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According to FRANCE 24, rumors of infidelity within the Sarkozy couple, which spread like wildfire in foreign media last month, may have been the result of a conspiracy, the French president’s media advisor has claimed as prosecutors in Paris open a preliminary inquiry. The minister was quoted as saying: “The fact that these rumors have been relayed by the press in the UK, Germany and Switzerland could point to a conspiracy ahead of France’s presidency of the G20 in 2010. We will carry out an inquiry to establish where the rumors come from.”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s media adviser, Pierre Charon, said Sunday in an interview with French website Rue 89 that rumors in early March of extra-marital affairs involving Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, could have been the result of “an organized conspiracy”. The JDD has decided to press charges against “unknown persons”, a move French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur said was the result of pressure from the Elysée, France’s presidential palace. Charon said an inquiry would help determine “whether there was some kind of conspiracy involving financial transactions”.
An article published in Sunday’s edition of Le Monde, titled “the Elysée looking for a conspiracy”, said some people in Sarkozy’s entourage suspected Rachida Dati, a former justice minister who has since fallen out of favor with the president, of having fuelled the rumors. Dati denied the allegations in a statement released on Sunday evening.
Generally the French press does not make much noise about politicians’ private lives. François Mitterand notoriously was able to hide the existence of a daughter born to his mistress.
The summary of the rumors in the past few weeks:
- Nicolas Sarkozy is said to be romancing his 40-year-old ecology minister, Chantal Jouanno. A spokesman for Mrs. Jouanno said she was “scandalized by this rumour” and was prepared to pursue legally any “slanderous comments”. The Elysée has declined to comment.
- Meanwhile, Carla Bruni is said to be involved with prize-winning musician Benjamin Biolay. The British tabloid The Sun, as well as respected Swiss paper La Tribune de Génève, say the rumors started on Twitter where French journalists first alleged Bruni was having an affair with Biolay. The story was picked up by several blogs in France and the noted Sunday paper, Le Journal du Dimanche on its website.
- The Daily Telegraph picked up on details in the Journal du Dimanche blog post claiming that Bruni and Biolay went to Thailand a few weeks ago for a holiday “that was cut short when the president called her back to Paris". The post was subsequently taken offline on the grounds of respect for the private lives of the President and First Lady.
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